Traditional engineering

Since many industrial accidents are plant and/or process related, this chapter is devoted to process fundamentals. The material is presented in the traditional engineering format, but without specific references to accidents and emergencies. The last tlu-ee chapters of Part II are primarily concerned with plant-related accidents. 

For plastics, heat capacity is usually reported during constant pressure heating. Plastics differ from traditional engineering materials because their specific heat is temperature sensitive. 

Some approximate conversion factors to SI units are given in Table 1.1. These are worth committing to memory, to give some feel for the units for those more familiar with the traditional engineering units. The exact conversion factors are also shown in the table. A more comprehensive table of conversion factors is given in Appendix D. 

In addition to the physical data analysis methods, traditional engineering analysis tools and methods are also useful during incident investigations. Traditional analysis tools can he used to determine the following. 

Traditional engineering analysis tools will usually be used at some point during the investigation. The investigators will use these methods to support and refute the various theories that are put forth during the investigation. Often rough calculations may be all that is needed to determine if a scenario is possible. For example, even if the entire contents of a tank are released, it may not be sufficient to cause an overflow in another part of the process. This calculation may be sufficient to eliminate certain theories that have been proposed. 

Some fixed filtration systems are relatively inexpensive. For example, constructed wetlands and sand filters are generally the most successful methods of polishing the treated wastewater effluent from lagoons. These systems have also been used with more traditional, engineered primary treatment technologies such as septic tanks and primary clarifiers. In such constructed wetlands, the system utilizes the roots of plants to provide substrate for the growth of attached bacteria, which utilize the nutrients present in the effluents and for the transfer of oxygen. 

One of the latest attempts to reduce carbon emissions in cars is the development of the gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle, or hybrid car. A hybrid car uses two sources of energy a traditional, fossil-fuel-powered engine and a battery that stores electrical energy. A hybrid car can burn fossil fuels and run on a traditional engine or, at other times, the car runs on clean electric power. Because it runs partly on electricity, a hybrid emits much less atmospheric carbon dioxide and other pollutants. 

Comparing to traditional engineering disciplines, software is considered as distinguished by ... 

Finally, it seems obvious that chemical engineering education needs to be built around a core at the graduate as well as the undergraduate level. The core should emphasize the disciplinary matrix the analysis of chemical and physical rate processes. Whatever new directions are being taken in research, whether oriented toward a traditional engineering outlook or toward basic science, the universality of the profession should be a major focus when these areas are integrated into the course of study. 

Time series analysis is the backdrop against which most theoretical models are developed in the life sciences and their analysis employs the traditional engineering assumption of signal plus noise. The signal plus noise model postulates that the time series variable X(t) consists of a slowly varying part S(f) and a randomly fluctuating part E,(f) ... 

The role of permeability in Darcy s law is to quantify the hydraulic conductivity of the medium. Permeability has dimensions (length), and is typically assigned units such as cm or pm in hydrology or materials science literature. The unit darcy, which has retained prominence in petroleum engineering, is based on an inconsistent set of traditional engineering units, and thus requires the awkward conversion 1 darcy = 1 cm cp/(atms) = 9.8692 x 10 cm. ... 

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